Neurobiology vs. Psychoanalysis

My brother reports on how the media is reacting to the riots in France:

My favorite TV program for the examination of television, Arrêt sur Images, had, as one of their guests this weekend the mayor of Clichy-sous-bois, the city at the epicenter of the recent events.

One of the commentators on the show was discussing how images of fire (in this case of burning cars) have a direct neurobiological impact on the amygdala of the spectator, causing the release of adreniline and other hormones. And he was saying how this contributes to an intense reaction to these images.

The response of the mayor of this underpriviliged suburb? He wasn’t sure if he could comment on a neurobiological interpretation. His own perspective is more philosophical, he said, based as it is on Gaston Bachelard’s book The Psychoanalysis of Fire.

So, you can see, there is a grave crisis in France. Nobody can agree on the correct theoretical framework.